October 2019 will never be forgotten in Linz. Coco Gauff, just 15 years old, regarded as one of the biggest talents in the world and a „lucky loser“ in the main draw, sensationally won the title in the city on the Danube.

In a thrilling final, the US-American defeated Jelena Ostapenko to make tennis history. Gauff was the youngest tournament winner in history since Nicole Vaidisova (Czech Republic) in 2005 and it was the start of a meteoric career - true to the popular motto „It all begins in Linz“

Gauff had travelled to Linz ranked 110th in the world and lost in the qualifying final to Tamara Korpatsch from Germany. But because Maria Sakkari from Greece had to cancel due to injury, Gauff got her second chance and made the most of it. „I'm overwhelmed and shocked,“ said Gauff at the press conference afterwards, after a few tears had flowed from her and her family on the court.

From that day on, Gauff's career took off. Today, the „wunderkind“ can already boast two Grand Slam titles: she withstood the huge public pressure at the 2023 US Open in front of a home crowd in New York and triumphed at the 2025 French Open, just as she did at the WTA Finals in Riyadh a year earlier.

The WTA tournament in Linz, where she attended a „Players Party“ for the first time in her life, will always have a special place in her memory. Once again, a world career has started in Upper Austria.